Read Online Day's End by Colleen Vanderlinden - Free Book Online
Authors: Colleen Vanderlinden
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I’m gonna win.”
“This isn’t your style. Kids? Come on,” I said.
“It’s not. But sometimes you have to play nice to get what you want,” he said with a shrug.
“So you’re not giving me anything here?”
“Depends on you. Remember what I just said about playing nice? How badly do you want to know?”
I shook my head and punched out at him with my power. He shouted at me, enraged and unintelligible. He got up, and from his posture, after seeing him do it so many times already, I could tell that he was getting ready to teleport.
“Every damn time, Killjoy,” I said, hitting him again. He went flying again, and one of the kids in the force field cheered. “You can’t run every time I’m about to whup your ass.”
He kind of made the same general motion again, like he was getting ready to teleport, and nothing happened.
I laughed and walked toward him, my hands up, guard up.
“Powers aren’t what they once were, huh? Dr. Death wasn’t as good as you thought he was, maybe.” Killjoy snarled and jumped up, lunging at me. Powers or not, he was s strong bastard. He towered a good half a foot taller than me and his thighs were each roughly as thick as my waist. I ducked away, shot out another blast of power at him, and he went flying.
It barely phased him. He charged at me again, this time drawing his sword and slashing toward me with it.
“We both know you’re not going to kill me, asshole,” I hissed as I hit him again. “Partly because you’re out of your damn mind. Mostly because you know you can’t.”
He stopped then, and he laughed. I knocked him back again, hoping to knock him out so I could collar him and get him locked up before he hurt anybody else. “Really, Jolene? You think death is the worst thing I can do to you?” His voice was quiet, smooth, calm. That, all by itself, was enough to send a shiver up my spine. “You talk a big game, but you’re scared of me.” He paused, looked down at his sword, and put it back into his scabbard. Then he laughed again. “You’re scared of me. And sweetheart, you have every reason to be. Keep the brats. I don’t give a fuck.”
I charged at him, just as he leapt for the window. He was nothing but a streak of black across the sky, and when he flew off, the other Mayhem members all rose into the air and took off as well.
I was halfway out the window to go after him when the building gave a sickening lurch, then a deafening rumble started from the north end of the building.
“Shit.” I gestured wildly to the kids and the woman in the bubble, and they came to me. I grabbed them all and flew them out. We were just through the hole I’d made in the wall when the noise got louder, the walls started to sway, and the building gave out, falling to the earth in a blazing cloud of dust and brick. The authorities had gotten everyone back, clearly worrying that this would happen once they’d been unable to make any headway with whatever Killjoy’s people had used to start those fires. I carried the kids and woman to where the other kids were all waiting, and the assembled crowd went nuts cheering when we touched down. It’s hard to describe unless you’ve heard it, but the shouts of joy from the kids and teachers had a certain energy to them. Only people who have been close to death seem capable of making sounds like that, so full of joy and life that it’s enough to make you cry. The bystanders were cheering too, but the cheers and chants from the people who had been trapped in the school were the sweetest sound in the world to me.
And when they started chanting my name, loudly, wildly, clapping in time to the syllables, “Daystar! Daystar! Daystar!” I did actually start to lose it, blinking back tears while I half listened to Portia filling me in on what had happened on the ground. After a moment, she gave up talking and pulled me in for a strong hug, and the crowd went crazy cheering again.
“You did good, Daystar,” she said,
“This isn’t your style. Kids? Come on,” I said.
“It’s not. But sometimes you have to play nice to get what you want,” he said with a shrug.
“So you’re not giving me anything here?”
“Depends on you. Remember what I just said about playing nice? How badly do you want to know?”
I shook my head and punched out at him with my power. He shouted at me, enraged and unintelligible. He got up, and from his posture, after seeing him do it so many times already, I could tell that he was getting ready to teleport.
“Every damn time, Killjoy,” I said, hitting him again. He went flying again, and one of the kids in the force field cheered. “You can’t run every time I’m about to whup your ass.”
He kind of made the same general motion again, like he was getting ready to teleport, and nothing happened.
I laughed and walked toward him, my hands up, guard up.
“Powers aren’t what they once were, huh? Dr. Death wasn’t as good as you thought he was, maybe.” Killjoy snarled and jumped up, lunging at me. Powers or not, he was s strong bastard. He towered a good half a foot taller than me and his thighs were each roughly as thick as my waist. I ducked away, shot out another blast of power at him, and he went flying.
It barely phased him. He charged at me again, this time drawing his sword and slashing toward me with it.
“We both know you’re not going to kill me, asshole,” I hissed as I hit him again. “Partly because you’re out of your damn mind. Mostly because you know you can’t.”
He stopped then, and he laughed. I knocked him back again, hoping to knock him out so I could collar him and get him locked up before he hurt anybody else. “Really, Jolene? You think death is the worst thing I can do to you?” His voice was quiet, smooth, calm. That, all by itself, was enough to send a shiver up my spine. “You talk a big game, but you’re scared of me.” He paused, looked down at his sword, and put it back into his scabbard. Then he laughed again. “You’re scared of me. And sweetheart, you have every reason to be. Keep the brats. I don’t give a fuck.”
I charged at him, just as he leapt for the window. He was nothing but a streak of black across the sky, and when he flew off, the other Mayhem members all rose into the air and took off as well.
I was halfway out the window to go after him when the building gave a sickening lurch, then a deafening rumble started from the north end of the building.
“Shit.” I gestured wildly to the kids and the woman in the bubble, and they came to me. I grabbed them all and flew them out. We were just through the hole I’d made in the wall when the noise got louder, the walls started to sway, and the building gave out, falling to the earth in a blazing cloud of dust and brick. The authorities had gotten everyone back, clearly worrying that this would happen once they’d been unable to make any headway with whatever Killjoy’s people had used to start those fires. I carried the kids and woman to where the other kids were all waiting, and the assembled crowd went nuts cheering when we touched down. It’s hard to describe unless you’ve heard it, but the shouts of joy from the kids and teachers had a certain energy to them. Only people who have been close to death seem capable of making sounds like that, so full of joy and life that it’s enough to make you cry. The bystanders were cheering too, but the cheers and chants from the people who had been trapped in the school were the sweetest sound in the world to me.
And when they started chanting my name, loudly, wildly, clapping in time to the syllables, “Daystar! Daystar! Daystar!” I did actually start to lose it, blinking back tears while I half listened to Portia filling me in on what had happened on the ground. After a moment, she gave up talking and pulled me in for a strong hug, and the crowd went crazy cheering again.
“You did good, Daystar,” she said,
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